Mountains of the Moon
las Montañas de la Luna
The Mountains of the Moon wall off the Vale of Arryn to the west and north, a grey stone barrier that cuts the Arryn lands off from the rest of the Seven Kingdoms. Only the High Road threads through that maze of peaks, and only the Bloody Gate decides who reaches the other side.
Clans who never bowed to the Eyrie live on its slopes, and for centuries they have come down to raid caravans and armies bold enough to cross. No one enters the Vale, or leaves it, without passing through these mountains first.
Chapter 1
The clans that never surrendered
Books only
When the Andals crossed the sea and landed in the Vale, not every First Man bent the knee. Those who lost the Battle of the Seven Stars and refused to serve House Arryn fled into the mountains, and the clans that still live there today are their descendants. Carved into some of the rock faces are stars and axes, the mark of the war's victors.
Since then those tribes have come down more than once to raid the Riverlands, and a dozen armies have tried to force the passage into the Vale. None of them made it — the Bloody Gate has always turned them back.
Chapter 2
The Dance of the Dragons and its aftermath
130–132 ACBooks only
Aemond Targaryen
Jeyne Arryn
Aegon III TargaryenDuring the Dance of the Dragons, snow closed the mountain passes in the year 130, and Lady Jeyne Arryn had to send her aid to the Blacks by sea instead of overland. Prince Aemond Targaryen, riding Vhagar, struck Stone Hedge in the nearby hills. Nettles is said to have fled Maidenpool on Sheepstealer and sought refuge in these very mountains.
Jeyne returned to the Vale in 132 to deal with the clans, still raiding from the heights, and her death soon after set off a war of succession. The host marching in support of Ser Joffrey Arryn was trapped by snow and harried by clansmen; a third of the men, including their own commander, were lost before reaching the Bloody Gate, and Lord Benjicot Blackwood had to take command in his place.
Chapter 3
Eddard Stark's flight
Books only
Eddard StarkWhen Robert's Rebellion broke out, Lord Eddard Stark left the Eyrie and crossed the Mountains of the Moon to the Fingers, where he took ship north.
Chapter 4
The kidnapping of Tyrion Lannister
Books and show
Catelyn Stark
Tyrion Lannister
BronnCatelyn Tully kidnapped Tyrion Lannister at the Inn at the Crossroads and took him to the Eyrie along the High Road, through the Mountains of the Moon. The mountain clans attacked the party on the way, and both of them survived the assault.
Tyrion later won his trial by combat through Bronn's sword, and Ser Lyn Corbray escorted the two of them to the Bloody Gate with orders never to return to the Vale. Heading back west, surrounded by clansmen, Tyrion talked them into fighting for House Lannister in exchange for the promise of the Vale.
Chapter 5
The passage no one could cross
Books only
Robb StarkAfter the Battle of the Blackwater, Timett led the Burned Men back into the mountains. Around that time Catelyn wrote to her sister Lysa asking her to cross the mountains and visit their dying father, Lord Hoster Tully, at Riverrun, and Robb Stark asked her to open the Bloody Gate and let his army pass back north. Lysa answered neither request.
Crossing the Mountains of the Moon had become almost impossible: snow piled up in the passes, and the clans, better armed than usual, stepped up their raids.
The physical world
Tienen picos de color gris verdoso cubiertos de nieve. Los desprendimientos de rocas son comunes y sus laderas son rocosas, altas y salvajes.
Geography · Juego de Tronos, Capítulo 31, Tyrion.
Se encuentran álamos en las montañas, y los s cazan en los pasos de la cordillera.
Geography · Juego de Tronos, Capítulo 28, Catelyn.
Las estribaciones occidentales entre las montañas y las Tierras de los Ríos tienen torres de piedra sin mortero, y algunos puntos fuertes en el Camino Alto tienen muros de tierra de cuatro pies de altura.
Geography · Juego de Tronos, Capítulo 56, Tyrion.
What we are not sure about
PositionWe worked it out
The position was inferred from the label on the base map rather than from a symbol of its own: it marks the area, not the point.